At Starbucks, Songs of Instant Gratification

New technology that allows coffee patrons to download the music playing
in Starbucks stores to their iPhones is just the beginning of a wave of
options for impulse purchases.

With this new technology bringing music as an impulse purchase to the coffee-drinking masses, what kinds of other technology-based impulse purchases are on the horizon? What brands would benefit from having this as an option?~A

Starting tomorrow at certain Starbucks stores, a person with an iPhone
or iTunes software loaded onto a laptop can download the songs they
hear over the speakers directly onto those devices. The price will be
99 cents a song, a small price, Starbucks says, to satisfy an immediate
urge.

“For the customer it’s an instant gratification,” said Ken
Lombard, president of Starbucks Entertainment. “You’ll hear the song,
be able to identify what it is and download to the device.”